Loving Hands

The past few weeks, we've been going through closets and bins with an eye toward clearing out the clutter and better storing the things we want to keep. I was reminded of what a treasure trove of handmade textiles I have, and I thought I'd share some here.

First up is a quilt that came from my paternal grandmother's house - or garage, I should say. We found it in a footlocker. My mother and I decided this quilt must have come from my grandfather's side of the family, since stuff from her family was so well cared for. It has flannel backing, which no other quilt handed down through my family has, and it features some really cool graphic fabrics, probably from the 1930s or 40s -- giant blue and white pears, French people dancing around the Eiffel Tower and white golf balls on a mustard background. Fun stuff!

On Mom's side of the family, I have two items made by my great-grandmother's little sister, Gladys. I only remember my Aunt Gladys from her later years, living in the same nursing home as my great-grandfather (her brother-in-law). He didn't really get along with her, but I loved visiting her room. She and her roommate were crochet machines, cranking out pastel-colored blankets, dolls and cozies that covered nearly every corner of the room. This is a tablecloth that I think is crocheted. It might be tatting, though I don't really know anything about tatting. The work is very tiny. It only has a few stains and some tears that could be repaired. It's not really my style, but I do love it's intricacy.

Aunt Gladys also made this cool trivet-like thing constructed with interlocking crocheted rings. The white rings seem to have been made one inside the next, and then were woven together by the section in green/yellow and then bordered with same psychedelic yarn. The result is a groovy 70s Celtic knot.

I'm sure a big part of the appeal of these items for me is knowing something of their provenance and of their makers. It makes me sad that I can't talk to Aunt Gladys now and tell her how much I loved watching her work as a boy. Or that I will probably never know who made that quilt. But having these and pulling them out from time to time to admire them makes me very, very happy.

Flaps Down

I started a new project this week -- the first one I've started in quite some time. I'm using leftover yarn from the Hillhead Slipover to make a Polar Chullo. I don't think this 40-something is going to be able to make a chullo work as a fashion accessory, but I'm hoping a niece or nephew likes it.

The very first step in the process is knitting the ear flaps. The pattern calls for knitting them flat. I started doing that and quickly became frustrated after a few rows. I have such a hard time purling with my right hand, and although I've done it before, I had yarn dominance issues and I hated it. It felt so weird.

Then I realized I didn't have to strand flat! I started over, knitting in the round, and adding steeks between the two sides. It used more yarn, but it went faster. By this afternoon, I had both flaps done, and all I had to do was cut the steeks and over stitch the edges to stop unravelling -- not a major issue with this yarn, but the flaps are going to pass throigh my hands a lot in the upcoming knitting, and I wanted to play it safe. Plus, I plan to sew some fleece to the insides so tidiness is not a major concern.

Now on to the more interesting parts of the hat. One concern is that the two shades of blue aren't contrasted enough. But even in the called-for colors, the flaps aren't as visually interesting as the top paet of the hat, so I'm going to keep going with what I've got.

55 Christmas Balls

The original plan was to have these done shortly before Christmas. Okay, so I'm a little ahead of schedule!

Last night, I finished the last ball, Thirteenth Day Kari. I'm kind of surprised at how quickly this project went, although, like many projects, I did tend to tackle it in bursts. Once i had the main pattern down pat, I could almost do these in my sleep. The main thing I needed to know was what row the contrasting yarn started on, and then I could just take off. The last one I did was finished in just a few hours. As I wrapped this up, I thought about all the possibilities for making one's own designs that would fit inside this format.

I have my favorites. The snowflake patterns from the beginning of the set still captivate me. I find myself drawn to the ones with traditional patterns and motifs over the ones with figurative themes -- although that squirrel is darned cute.

I'm glad I used beads rather than gluing on the crystals. One summer of storage in a hot Texas garage, and I would have had a box of ornaments sitting on a bed of rattly sequins. But I do think that maybe I overdid them a bit on a few of the designs. Towards the end of the project I found myself wanting to use them less and less. Still, I can't wait to see if they sparkle as much as I hope they will once they are on a tree with lots of lights.

I used the examples in the book when determining what colors to use. Hence the red and white (plus green in one instance). I've always liked the idea of a limited palette for decorating a tree, and I thought, "here's my chance." Jeff suggested I do some of them in a navy or dark green color, which I agree would look nice -- and some day I may get around to doing that. I'm not averse to the idea. In fact, there is a picture of a tree with 1300 julekuler on it in many colors that looks quite fabulous. For now, 55 is a nice number.

Thanks for following along as I made these. I can highly recommend them as a project. Now all that remains is one more set of pictures, but those will have to wait for later in the year. Martha was kind to point out that there are similar Advent and Easter projects designed by Arne & Carlos and some of the designs look really cool. I probably didn't need to know about this!

I'll Be Darned

In the process of de-cluttering this summer, I've been going through boxes of things inherited from my mother and grandmother. I've been throwing a few things out, but mostly just trying to get better organized. Today, I ran across this -- a sock darner.

The archaeologist in me thinks that the layer in which it was situated would indicate that this belonged to my dad's mother. Which makes the family historian in me snicker. Because my maternal grandmother was the crafty one -- not Grandma. I know that she could sew. Her high school scrapbook is filled with references to a sewing club that only ever seemed to have picnics and go swimming. But I never saw her sew, or knit, for that matter. Much less darn a pair of socks. Perhaps this belonged to her mother? My great-grandma could do just about anything. I wouldn't be surprised if it was hers. Alas, there's no one left to ask about its provenance.

In any case, this little sock darner was well-used at some point. The finish on the rounded end is quite worn. And there are some dents in one side that lead me to believe that some child, probably my dad, used it to whack things with. I have no idea how to use one of these myself, but I know at least one of my readers has taken a class in sock darning. In fact, that's the reason I was able to recognize what this is. Maybe she can show me how to darn socks some day?

Back to organizing. Who knows what else I might find?

 

Kalajoki Socks

I've been focused on other things besides knitting lately. Sadly, this often happens at this time of year. For when the thermometer goes way up and the weather is sizzling hot, a fool, for his wool, is not. I've been doing yard work, cleaning out closets (ahem), getting rid of unneeded junk, getting new flooring put in, and trying to take care of all those little things that need to get done before the new academic year begins.

However, I did manage to finish the socks that I cast on for nearly a month ago with the yarn i got in Denver. In the last two days I knit the heel flap, turned the heel, decreased the gusset and finished the toe of the left sock. And, miracle of miracles, I managed to keep my instructions and charts straight between the two. Not so easy when the chart for the left sock is on the right side of the page and vice-versa. Seriously.

They're snug, like I like, but an extra 4 stitches circumference might have helped. They slip on and off alright, if I can just remember that there is a left and right sock in this pair. And I think I've mentioned before that my rivers could have been wider even than the small expansion I allowed. My only concern now is that the stretchy river mouths are right across my big toes and I see some potential for fast wear there. Always worry about something, no?

Now, I need to buckle down and finish those last five Christmas balls.

Reindeer Pause

This week has been busy with genealogy projects, including photographing and adding interments at a country cemetery. But, I was also able to get through the chapter on reindeer ornaments.

I liked these designs, but as a group, I don't feel I excecuted them very well. Something about the really long floats over several rows, mixed with my lame right-handed tension, made for some puckered surfaces. I also didn't stuff these as tightly for some reason -- as if fiber fill was some sort of priceless commodity. Maybe I'm just getting sloppy as I get toward the end of this project. Must keep that in check.

First was the Reindeer Heart, a cool motif that could have gone as easily into the chapter on hearts. If you squint just right it kind of looks like a flaming Sacred Heart. Then, in a nod to non-Norwegian Christmas kitsch, a design called Rudolph. I couldn't not put a red bead on its nose, could I? I also added beads for the eyes, but the net effect was to make it look like the deer is crying -- or like it's been shot. Poor Rudolph. You deserve better.

The next one is just called Reindeer. Not much to describe, but I did like how leaving the legs on the far side of the deer detached from the body by one stitch lent a bit of three-dimensionality to the design. Not much, but it helps. And lastly, a Running Reindeer. I filled all the white stitches in the border and the three on each deer's body with crystal beads -- 60 beads in all. I think that's a record. Hope it doesn't snap off a branch.

 

Only 5 more balls to go!

Socks, Squirrels & Straw Bucks

This summer break has been filed with lots of activities, and I haven't been hitting the knitting as much as I'd like. But I have made a bit of progress this week.

Most notably, I completed a few more Christmas Balls after a few weeks of drought. I finished up the chapter on animals with two patterns, both of which I decided to leave unbeaded. First we have The Squirrel with its over-the-top bushy tale. I kind of wanted to add a little acorn, but the seam would have messed with it and I decided to leave well enough alone. The designers said they got the idea for this motif from a knitted children's sweater they ran across. I figure when (not if) Kate decides to eat one of these ornaments, it will be this one depicting her backyard arch-nemesis.

Next was something called The Straw Buck. Apparently, little (or big!) goats made out of bundles of straw are a traditional Scandinavian Christmas decorating tradition. I'd never heard of this, but there are many examples to be found on the web. Now to me, "buck" would denote a deer of some sort, but Wikipedia says goat. And bock beer often has a goat on the label. And this little guy does seem to have a bit of a beard. The Wikipedia article mentions pranking neighbors by putting a julebukk in their yard. Some friends and I once did something similar with a deer made out of sticks and logs -- you know who you are! -- so maybe I've absorbed a Scandinavian Christmas tradition without knowing it.

And this week, I finished the first of the Kalajoki socks. Modeling shots will follow once the pair is finished, but I wanted to show the clever "anatomical toe." You know the standard toe in which you decrease every other round? To do an anatomical toe, you decrease evey other round on the big toe side, but decrease every round on the pinky toe side. Neat! Not necessary, but very easy to do -- and probably equally easy to screw up if you're not paying attention. We'll see.

Now we're off to celebrate our 8th anniversary (thanks, Canada!) with a fancy dinner.

 

Cake

Dave, one of the talented and stalwart knitters in our men’s knitting group, brought a cake to the meeting today. And to think I almost didn’t go – I had gotten on a bit of an online genealogy binge, and had a hard time tearing myself away. But I’m so, so glad I did. There were only three of us at the meetup today, so we had a bit of help eating it. Strawberries and cake and whipped cream and cream cheese and kirsch – how could it be bad? I had seconds. There, I said it.

And I’m getting ready for seconds on my Kalajoki Socks. I figure I’m going to do one half of the pattern rounds again (18), and then start decreasing for the toes. I may have mentioned that these are left and right-footed, so I have to be sure and get them right. I’ve tried them on and they fit like a glove, although I’m a little dismayed at a strange run that appears between my SSKs on the left gusset.

You may have noticed that the cuff looks a little longer than the last time. After knitting the heel flap and turning the heel, I thought the cuff looked awfully short. I weighed my remaining yarn and made an executive decision to rip back the heel and put in another 33-round pattern repeat. I’m glad I did. I think it looks way better.

A River Runs Through Them

I was itching to get back on the sock knitting horse after my recent disappointment, and also wanting to,use some of the BFL sock yarn I got last week in Colorado, so I cast on for the Kalajoki pattern yesterday. It's a translated Finnish pattern, named after a river in that country.

I originally planned to knit these on 2.5mm needles, but switched to my usual 2mm after seeing how drapey the fabric was. The pattern calls for a thicker yarn on 54 stitches, so I upped it to 72 -- my standard for sock yarn on my feet. I did a bit of math and figured an added ridge in the river pattern would be proportional, although now that I've done it, I can see that two additional ridgess would have looked fine. My "river" looks more centered than others, but I'm OK with that.

A little creative mathematics got me through the heel flap and around the heel turn, where I stopped to take the picture at the left. This pair will have an "anatomical toe," different for the left and right feet. I'm looking forward to seeing how that works.

In reference to the disappointment mentioned above, Amy had an excellent suggestion. I added an I-cord loop to my single red sock and have repurposed it as a Christmas stocking. So practical! Perfect for any guests staying at Christmastime -- or as a gift. Thank you, Amy!

Sock Blocked

Actually, I haven't even bothered to block it. I'm referring to a different kind of blocking.

I knew I was asking for it on this project. It called for over 500 yards of yarn and my skein only had 462. So I thought that by shortening it, I would come out okay. I did leave out a few repeats, but I should have separated the skein out into two equal-weight balls beforehand. The finished first sock weighs 52 grams and I have 48 grams left. There will be no second sock.

But, I learned some cool techniques and got some practice memorizing a lace pattern. The three part star-shaped toe with the mercifully rare P3tog was only slightly maddening. Working on this got me to thinking about socks again, which I haven't been knitting enough of lately. Perhaps I'll get started on some with the new yarn I picked up in Boulder. I'm thinking of making the Kalajoki pattern -- it's been in my queue a while and should look nice in a bluish green. I'll need to look into upsizing them for manly Flintstone feet.

Knitting on the Road

 

We've been in Denver attending the 2012 GALA Festival this week. We sang, we danced, and we've listened to a lot of great choral music. But I've also managed to get a bit of knitting and yarn shopping in.

Before leaving Austin, I cast on for a pair of Gentlemen's Socks for Evening Wear from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. It feels like it's been forever since I've knitted socks. I'm using some wine-red Knit Picks Essential that I picked up at a yarn swap a few months back. Not exactly my color, and not exactly my style. These are awfully lacey for most gentlemen I know, but I suppose they were just the thing for Victorian dandies out on the town. One could make the case that, as laces go, this window-pane pattern is more masculine than some. I'll make them, but I don't know if I'll make them work.

The pattern is written for three needles, and although I usually use magic loop for socks, I'm toeing the line here. Past experience with patterns from this book taught me to do what I'm told. It's easier, and Ms. Bush hasn't steered me wrong yet. I have had some near disasters with 36 stitches crammed onto a 6-inch needle, though.

This morning, we took a break from the music and went with some friends up to Boulder for a few hours. We strolled around some shops and I just happened to stumble into Gypsy Wools. All the yarn there is hand painted or hand dyed by the owner, and the colors were amazing. There many examples of yarns you don't always find, and I picked up two hanks of sock yarn in both a dark gray and a steel blue bordering on turquoise made out of superwash Blue Faced Leicester. It's a nice little shop with friendly staff and an amazing array of colors. Also, they have lots of tops top and roving for spinners. (Did I use those terms correctly?)

We head back to Texas, and the heat, tomorrow.

 

Exterminativity

Over the past few weeks, in the midst of wrapping up the sweater vest, I worked on the next set of Christmas Balls in the chapter of Religious motifs. As religious themes, none of these seem particularly Christmas-y to me -- and several seem downright Easter-y. But who's to say? I suppose if you live in a country where Easter is as likely to be as snowy as Christmas, a little blurring of the symbolism is allowed.

 

First up is a Crown, which I bedazzled to the nth degree. The beads around the brow section are silver, with all the rest red. The next ball is a Lily pattern across two panels. It doesn't show in the photo, but the lilies to the left and right of the visible one point down rather than up. It looks like I may have had a tension issue with this one -- I see a bit of a pucker on the right.

 

Next are a Butterfly and an Anchor. The butterfly's wing spots consisted of three white stitches. I couldn't decide which of them deserved beads -- so I did them all. This may cross the line from flashy to trashy, but there you go. The anchor was tough because of the long floats.

 

And finally, a Greek Cross on a red background (my personal favorite of this bunch) and a Crown & Heart design. I like the heart, although it rides low in the design and was hard to capture. The crown on the first pattern is preferable to this one, I think. This one looks like a Dalek. And everyone knows that hearts and Daleks don't really mix, much less Daleks and Christmas -- except when they do...

 

Hillhead Finale

At long last, after three months, the Hillhead Slipover from Ann Feitelson's The Art of Fair Isle Knitting is complete!

Although I finished it last weekend, I didn't want to model it until I'd bought a new blue dress shirt and my first ever real bow tie -- and then learned how to tie it. I was able to get the shopping done this afternoon, after which I rushed home to watch some YouTube bow tie directions. I wanted to do it all today while it was still "just" in the mid-90s. It's gonna get hot this weekend, and Tuesday's high is expected to be 108. I know wool is supposed to be fire-resistant, but really...

Turns out tying a bow tie is very similar to tying one's shoes -- only with really fat laces that you can only see in a mirror. I think I'm pretty close to getting it right.

This sweater is everything I hoped. I love the colors, I got gauge by swatching thoughtfully, I made a modification in length that was sorely needed, and, despite needing to purchase an extra ball of one color, I still have enough yarn left over to make a Polar Chullo for some lucky soul with a smaller melon than mine.

Whew! It's good to be done with the wad of wool on my lap for now. Now all I have to do is await some cooler weather so I can wear this thing, bow tie or not. And my other project is just the thing to bring on thoughts of wintry weather.

Stay cool!

 

Got My Best Vest

Long time readers might get the Gypsy reference in today's blog post title, in addition to the one that's in this blog's subtitle. Or maybe not -- it's kind of obscure. "Paris silk! Harris tweed! There's only one thing I need!" (A clip from the otherwise dreadful 1962 version is available at TCM).

And that's to wait for this thing to dry, because right now, the Hillhead Slipover is done and blocking! I knuckled down and cut the armhole steeks, knit the armhole edgings, and then overstitched and trimmed the steek edges -- all in the last few days.

I wasn't sure about the stitching and trimming. I just wanted to be done, and as I learned with the Vaila Slipover, it's not necessary. But it does reduce the bulk around the openings and makes it look neater on the inside. I'll post a picture later once it's dry. I skipped Ann Feitelson's instructions to baste some thread around the neck opening and draw it in to neaten the edges during blocking. My edges look good enough, I think.

Modeling shots to come...

 

Christmas Balls Video

My friend Staci over at Very Pink has recently posted another of her very helpful and well-produced knitting instructional videos. I always watch her videos, even if they cover something I think I already know how to do. There's always something new to learn.

This week's video is about adding beads to knitting, and as an example, Staci used the Christmas Balls I had finished so far for the shoot. They look crisp, clear, and quite a bit larger. Maybe the camera does add a few ounces, as they say? I especially like how the red and white are both so contrasty and visible and true-to-color, and how they still pop against the white background.

 

My favorite part of the video is when she pushes them all away -- it looks like they weigh a ton! Thanks Staci (and Parker) for making my knitting look so good!

 

So to Steek

I took some deep breaths and left the sweater alone this week. I wanted to immortalize some steek cutting on video, so I needed to wait until there was good light and lots of quiet. This afternoon, Jeff went to the grocery store and the dogs were snoozing; I just had to wait for the air conditioner to cycle off. When it did, I grabbed my sharp scissors...

 

You should have seen the crazy rigging I had to do. I don't have any kind of tripod, so I ended up propping my iPad in a wine bottle rack and using some heavy things to keep it from flipping over the edge. I originally shot this vertically, but flipped it so it reads better. That slight tremor you can detect in my hands is from a heady mixture of terror and excitement. Gasp as the threads are cut! Thrill to the authentic sounds of snipping!

Now, to add the neck border...

 

Over the Shoulders

The patterning on the Hillhead Slipover is done, and the shoulders have been bound off.

This is such a clever design. The shoulders are bound off using 3-needles -- nothing too strange there -- but, if done correctly, the pattern flows over the shoulders. I know this, because I managed to drop a stitch during one of the shoulders, and thus was off by one stitch on one side, breaking the pattern. It was a major pain to undo those bound off stitches and get them back on the needles to start over, but it had to be done.

I'm so happy to have all the hard parts done. Now comes the fun part -- snip, snip, snip! You can see the front steek for the v-neck pretty clearly in this photo. Don't you want to just attack it with a pair of scissors? So, the three steeks need to be cut, then the edging added to the armholes and neck opening -- similar to that which is at the waist, but not as wide. Then a bunch of soaking and blocking. There's a riot of yarn ends on the inside that must also be cut, but weaving in won't be necessary, since they're at the beginnings and ends of rounds, hidden in the left armhole steek.

If you've been following events, you'll know that the additional yarn I needed for the vest arrived this week. And, the beads I needed to continue with the Christmas balls showed up, too. Way more than I'll probably ever use, in fact. I was able to knit the two patterns from the chapter called The choir of angels, from left to right, Angel and Harp. Heavenly!

 

 

Claudio

On Sunday, I went to buy more silver beads, only to find that the shop owner wasn't planning on putting in an order for some time. But, she was nice enough to write down all the details so that I might order them online -- which I later did. So while I waited for beads and yarn to arrive to help me continue with Christmas balls and Faite Isle vests, I decided I would start something quick and easy as a diversionary tactic. I kind of forgot how satisfying it can be to start and finish a project in just a few days!

The pattern I chose was Claudia, a free Ravelry pattern which I gender-reassigned to Claudio. It's a unisex hat made from worsted yarn, the beginning of which reminds me a lot of Jared Flood's Koolhaas hat which I made a few years ago. Staci made several of these when my knitting group made hats "for the boys" a while back and I really admired them at the time.

I had some nondescript brown worsted, snagged in a yarn swap, that was halfway consumed by a scarf I started a few years back but had since lost interest in. It was sitting in a bag, not even on needles anymore. Kate had gotten into it at some point, so it was all kind of a mess. I unraveled, untangled and unsnarled it, and had plenty for a hat. I used Staci's video instructions for the German Twisted Cast-On for extra added stretchiness. I started it Monday night, worked on it Tuesday a bit, and finished it up last night. Very satisfying, and I'm quite happy withe snug fit.

The yarn for the vest has since arrived, though, so it'll be back to the big project soon enough.

Highland Missed

I must have jinxed myself in my last post by mentioning that I had enough yarn. Because not two hours later, I found I only had a few feet left of one of my background colors, Highland Mist. I briefly considered cannibalizing my swatches, but quickly came to my senses. I ordered an additional ball from a different supplier than where I got the original. It won't be from the same dye lot, but since the two batches will be separated by many rounds, it shouldn't matter. Still, it will be the middle of next week before it arrives. So as regards the state of my vest, I have to paraphrase Jane Seymour as Dr. Quinn, "It's resting now."

So it's back to more Christmas balls. I've finished up the last two patterns in the chapter on hearts. The first here is Hospitality: Room in the Heart. I like how these nested hearts connect solidly across the panels, creating a cut-out paper-doll or snow-flake effect. Since I used so many red beads on the other heart patterns, I opted for silver beads in the negative space. This wiped me out of my supply, so I'm off to get more this afternoon. I hope they have some in stock this time.

The last pattern on the chapter is Meeting Hearts. It might remind one of two sideways hearts joined by a square buckle. Like many of the two-paneled patterns, these are hard to photograph and show the whole effect. There are little heart-ish shapes within the sideways hearts, but frankly, this pattern confuses me. I think this has been my least favorite ball to knit so far. The pattern doesn't appeal to me much, I made lots of mistakes on it, and I don't think I executed it particularly well.

But onward -- and upward! The next section is all about angels and thing angelic. Better dust off my halo.

 

The Sweater Vest Returns

After a quick run of Christmas balls, I returned to the Hillhead Slipover this week. And I've managed to get quite a bit done in only a few days.

Things have gone more smoothly since I've stopped trying to figure out ways to track the number of decrease rounds. They're different for the armholes and the neck opening. I started keeping separate counters for the two, and then tried marking the decreases with stitch markers, but that got tedious fast. I finally just decided to read the knitting as I went, and count rounds on the pattern to double-check. It helps that the design is symmetrical to the point that the same stitch in the pattern always appears on either side of the armhole steeks -- so, in four places. It makes it easy to check my work. The armhole decreases are now finished -- only the neck still to go. I'd feel better if there were more stitch-count reality checks in this pattern, but I seem to be okay so far.

It's been a relatively quiet time between semesters. Interspersed with visits by and to the in-laws, we've been taking care of landscape and general yard chores. I've been doing one big outdoor thing a day, and then catching up on knitting while watching episodes of Peep Show. Still almost a week to go -- I should be able to get a lot done. Should.

It feels good to get back to the sweater. The longer I was away from it, the more anxiety built up about whether I could remember my little mnemonics that carry me through. A little rough going at first, but all's well now. I still feelike I have enough yarn, and I'm still glad I added the extra length. I'm a little under gauge recently on spot checks, but well within the range of a little blocking adjustment.

 

Hearts Are Trump

There are lots of heart-themed ornaments in 55 Christmas Balls to Knit. It must be a common motif in Scandinavian patterns.

The second of the Christmas goodies patterns, Christmas Package, isn't even in the chapter on heart patterns, but it features little heart-shaped baskets. These are traditionally filled with candies or treats and hung on the tree. It's hard to capture the rounds of pattern near the top and bottom of the balls in a photo, but it is a cool effect. I put beads on the point on the basket where the handle might be attached. And because the color of the hanger is determined by the color on the bottom of the ball, it's red, despit the overall whiteness.

The first pattern in the chapter called Hearts is, appropriately, Heart. And that there's what it is, as we say in Texas -- just four big hearts all the way around. The sample in the book shows an offset crystal pattern overlaying the red heart, and although it looks kind of cool, it's not me. I opted to just outline it in red beads. It ate up a lot of them, though -- 64 for this ornament alone! Even though I bought two more tubes of 350 beads the last time I was at Nomadic Notions, I might just have to go back for more. Now that I've finished it, I think it might have been interesting to have two of the hearts outlined in clear/white beads. I'll keep that in mind for future patterns.

Finally, we have Heart Lattice. I like the cartoony blobbiness of these hearts. After I finished this, I thought it might have been more symmetrical if the hearts in the bottom part of the panel pointed up, and the ones that jumped the seam pointed toward the center of the lattice. Since these motifs aren't geometrically uniform, though, it might be hard to pull off.

There are two more heart patterns in the chapter, but they'll have to wait until later. This week has been filled with yard work and I've been snagging bits of knitting time here and there when I can. It's warmed up quite a bit, and knitting on these little things is much more appealing than sitting with the vest on my lap.

 

Halfway There

I cranked out two more balls this weekend. That takes me to 28, which is just over halfway to all 55! And a month ahead of schedule, even though, until recently, I've been concentrating on the Hillhead Slipover. Despite my rapid start, I'm all too aware how quickly I could get behind.

First, I completed the Rocking Horse, the last pattern in the chapter called The night before Christmas. I wanted to add beads, and thought I might be able to style a saddle and reins using them. It almost worked. It's hard to get the concept of a line using beads -- they work better as accents and broader patterns. Also, my horses appear a bit more, er, well-fed than the samples in the book. Maybe saddles add a few pounds?

I did realize while making this that the increases described in the book work better with patterns that go right up to the edge of the panels than the ones I've been doing. So I've decided to switch from now on.

Pattern 28, Peppermint Pigs, is the first in the chapter Christmas goodies. Peppermint Pigs are a type of hard candy that are available in Norway at Christmas-time. This pattern, while simple, fills up all the space in the panels with large geometrical figures. Beads would have just been distracting, so I left them out. Usually, the second color doesn't come in until the 10th or 12th round, but these started in on round 2, which was a bit fiddly.

We're on a break between semesters, with no big travel or project plans, so hopefully I'll have a bit more time to devote to knitting. I haven't touched the sweater this past week, and I need to get back to it. I am getting a little restless with just the two projects going, even though the Christmas Balls have built-in pattern variety. For the past few months I can say, literally, that if it's not one thing, it's the other.

 

Le Steek, C'est Chic

So glad I added the extra pattern round. I'm much more confident that this while give me the necessary length, and it doesn't appear to have gobbled up too much of my remaining yarn. In the picture to the right, start at the first white stripe below the needles, then trace down two more white stripes. That more or less represents the amount of extra fabric I added. I got the lion's share of it done last Sunday, and I've been working on it when I can during the week.

Next week is the last week of the semester, and our chorus has a concert next weekend, so it's going to be quite busy, and I don't know how much time there will be for picking up the old needles. I do still want to keep my momentum going, especially since I've finally started the steeks, but it's gotten hot around here, and sitting around with a wad of wool on one's lap is getting less and less appealing.

Speaking of steeks, I have three going now -- one for each armhole, and one for the neck opening. This picture shows the right armholes opening, I think. For those who don't know, a steek is a section of knitting done across an area where a large hole will later be. It allows the knitter to easily maintain the established pattern while knitting in the round. Eventually, the extra stitch section (which can be as few as 3 stitches, but in this case is 12) is sliced up the middle and folded back under. Then, things like edging or zippers can be added. Steeks have a reputation of being a bit unnerving for the uninitiated, but I'm really looking forward to the snipping -- that sweet, sweet snipping that will set this garment free! Mwahahah!

Because I didn't want to be working on the steek setup when I was at my knitting group this weekend, I started another Christmas ball on Friday and finished it up Saturday afternoon. It's the third of the four patterns in the chapter called The night before Christmas. It's name is Dancing Around the Tree, and, according to the authors was the first design created for the book. I was a little at a loss as to how i miht bedazzle this particular design, but eventually settled on adding beads to the white stitches on the female figure's dress. It looks pretty good, but unfortunately, this photo's angle makes the dresses look a bit bottom heavy. I could hear the judges on Project Runway clucking their tongues as I knitted.

 

Hillhead vs. Vaila

I've finished the 99 rounds required in the Hillhead Slipover pattern before starting the armhole steeks. But am I really done with the main part of the body? Alas, no.

I decided to put it side-by-side with my previous Ann Feitleson-designed vest to compare. The Vaila Slipover has always been just short enough to be annoying. I really wish I'd added just another inch or so. As you can see here, the Hillhead is already a bit longer. The Hillhead pattern calls for more rounds in both the ribbing and the body - a total of about a dozen more all together. Clicking on the photo should take you to Flickr where I've added some notes explaining a bit more.

But I'm thinking of going a few more rounds, as pugilistic as that sounds. I'm pretty sure I have the yarn for it, and I'd rather it be a bit long than to be constantly tugging it down, like I find myself doing with the Vaila Slipover. Most of my height manifests itself between my shoulders and hips -- I have the same inseam measurement as my brother who is a few inches shorter than me. So I'm thinking that even though I've reached this milestone, I'll go 28 more rounds before throwing in the towel. Thoughts?

Ding, ding!